During the nineteenth century, Paris had become the world capital of art. The image of the Ville Lumière was built, a mythical city full of opportunities, where everything that happened acquired a special aura and where the artistic production set the standard to follow all over the world. It was the greatest exponent of modernity.

The presence of Catalan artists in Paris at the end of the 19th century and during the first half of the 20th century was remarkable and relevant. The creators were looking for trends in the city of the Seine, as well as finding a place in the Parisian art market through the halls and galleries, the two main platforms for the recognition and dissemination of artists and trends.

Most of the artists who went to Paris looking for inspiration and pictorial experimentation came back full of new ideas and, sometimes, with executed works to share their artistic evolution to the barcelonian public. Some of them were linked to Sala Parés, which became one of the most privileged place to appreciate what the Catalans artists living in Paris produced. This presentation of the novelty reinforced the life and activity of the gallery for several decades.

"París a Parés" aims to highlight the importance of the gallery in the introduction of pictorial modernity in Catalonia in some of its stages and through its most common historical exhibitions and artists. It is a journey whose story is constructed with a selection of paradigmatic cases: from the realistic artists and the anecdotist painting, to the almost experiential art of the bohemian Montmartre, the avant-garde between the wars and the return to the figuration as a traditional character. In all cases, the Catalans play à la recherche de la Ville Lumière.

Curated by Sergio Fuentes Milà